The present invention relates to a pressure reactor for treating a sample fluid
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
A pressure reactor can be used for carrying out wet-chemical processes especially on a laboratory scale, e.g. for the breakdown of organic samples for trace element analysis. In this case, a sample fluid is guided in a sample line through an oven, wherein a chemical reaction of the individual components of the sample fluid occurs within the sample line. In order to increase the boiling point and therefore the achievable reaction temperatures, the sample line can be arranged in a pressure vessel. In this case, a free end of the sample line can be arranged in the pressure vessel, thus leading to a pressure balance between the sample line and a pressure vessel. As a result of this pressure balance, the mechanical properties of sample line will not limit the maximum achievable pressure, thus enabling substantially higher pressures.
Conventional pressure reactors have shortcomings because at high temperature components of the sample fluid, especially various acids, diffuse in the region of the oven through the sample line into the surrounding pressure line and accumulate there. These diffusing components can then condensate in the pressure vessel to cause contamination of the emerging finished sample fluid and to distortion of the result of the analysis.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved pressure reactor which obviates prior art shortcomings and is structured to prevent contamination of a sample fluid.